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sammymilfort's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Death, Suicide attempt, Violence, Murder, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Gore, Alcohol, Body horror, Child abuse, Vomit, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Blood, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Grief, and Addiction
Minor: Death of parent
nicnocs511's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault and Drug abuse
pgmoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The setting of Victorian London is very interesting to me as a history nerd, and I overall found these characters, especially Jem, Will, and Jessamine, to be very compelling. I admit Tessa was not my favorite at the beginning, but I really grew to appreciate her at the end (the fight at the end had my jaw on the floor!)
Although overall I enjoyed the setting/atmosphere, I do have a couple issues with this book. Mostly the plot had me compelled, although the pacing was a bit odd. The story does drag in places, mostly due to the first book doing much of the world building. As stated above, I didn't read TMI, so some things that might have come naturally to readers were new info to me. Additionally, some of the story beats did come back predictable to me, and some characters felt like a plot device and tropey more than a nuanced development.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story though! The jokes genuinely made me laugh, there were some beautiful prose in there, and I look forward to reading the next book!
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia
bludgeoned_by_hail's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Clare's writing style is very skillful, the plot is tense and exciting, the shadowy fantasy underworld of London has a great atmosphere, and the themes of interracial tensions, prejudice, loyalty and duty are handled with more nuance and subtlety than the usual in YA.
However, for all of its strengths, the book can't help but tumble into the tropes, pitfalls and 2010-isms of its genre, including but not limited to: the naive and plain but extraordinary young heroine plunged into an unknown magic world, the uninspired love triangle of a dark bad boy and a sensitive blonde boy, the Magic Academy turned new home hidden from humans, a conspicuous amount of orphans, and a sarcastic quip per page ratio constantly approaching critical levels. The déja vu gets especially grating if you're familiar with Clare's past work (which this is a prequel of).
Despite all of this, there is still a lot of promise and professionality at display, some genuinely great character work, and the bones for a nice trilogy.
I hope you're finally satisfied Veerliene xx
Moderate: Violence and Drug use
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Torture
thebankofbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Drug use, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Blood, Confinement, Gaslighting, Grief, Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, and Violence
zsofi_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Death, Blood, Violence, and Kidnapping
rafacolog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Racism, Torture, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Chronic illness
happilyeveralli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Racism, and Death
Minor: Sexism
mindins's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death and Sexism
Moderate: Kidnapping, Violence, Death, and Drug use
Minor: Alcohol and Infertility
sandwiiche's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Torture